Protect You From Shadows
by J-Hey K
Summary: SPOLIERS: chap. 71-74 “I’ll be watching you from the shadows…..” Riza only turned around when she didn't felt its presence anymore. Breathing hard on the cold night air, for the first time, ordinary darkness becomes terror itself… Royai, T, rizacentric.
1. Prologue

Hey, people! This is my first chapter, story, and upload, so please review!!! 3

Warning: spoliers for those who didn't pass chapter 74 in the FMA MANGA.

In a way, this is like a prologue. Half the time, I'll be writing events from the manga, the other half, about Roy and Riza ;) Don't get it?...... You'll see later!!!!!!

I'm estimating around five or six chapters.... we'll see..... *eyes wandering around*

Anyway, enjoy!!!

* * *

Her steps echoed on the brick walkway. Alone at this time of night with most of the lamp posts light, Riza Hawkeye usually wasn't scared of the dark. Well, after that Barry incident, she knew she had to be aware of some perverted men. She always had a gun under her uniform for safety.

But, this fear, even her weapons couldn't protect her…

She could easily say that she regretted going, but without going, she might had never knew the truth. Nor would anyone else. She considered herself lucky to know. But her body refused, trembling by every step. Surprisingly, she didn't trip on the stairs or stumbled to unlock her apartment door. When she opened up to her home, everything was pitch black inside. She never left her lights on when she leaves for work or open her curtains.

But, behind some of her moving boxes, two glowing eyes stared back into her wide eyes.

Shocked, she opened her door wider, only to find her Black Hayate wagging his tail at her. Then, he stopped when he noticed his master behaving differently. Riza turned the light switch on. Next to the switches was a mirror. Riza looked at herself. She saw a girl with blond hair with her hair up the same way but whose face was dotted with sweat and eyes filled with fear. _Since when did I look so afraid? _

"_I'll be watching you… from the shadows."_

She slid on the wall and sat with her arms crossed on her knees. Slowly regaining her senses, her body reluctantly started to calm down.

"It's okay… It's okay… It's okay…" she chanted quietly. "It's okay. It's o –"

BRRRING BRRRRRRING

Riza looked up and walked to her telephone. Hesitant about picking it up, her hands trembled.

BRRRING BRRRR –

"…………. Hello?"

"Evening, Miss. This is your favorite florist making a courtesy call."

_Colonel… _"I don't HAVE a favorite florist."

"Yeah sorry. I was thankful toward her, since she was a relative with the Armstrongs, and told me some information about North. I bought a ton of flowers in return. Think you could do me a favor and take some off my hands?" From the telephone booth, he saw his car filled with flowers and petals to the windows and roof.

_Well, at least he's the same as usual… _She sighed.

"What's wrong?"

His words stopped her heart.

"Did something happen?"

"…….. No, nothing."

"You sure?"

"Everything is fine. I'm sorry though. I don't have any vases or pots here. I appreciate you calling me, Colonel." She hung up. Riza picked up and hugged Black Hayate, maybe searching for comfort.

"How does he manage to have such good timing?"

On the other side of the line, Roy still held his phone, not sure if what she said was true or not.


	2. Chapter 1

he he, sorry that I took a while. ^^

Enjoy~

* * *

The next day, Riza found herself on the couch with all her lights on.

_There goes my electricity bill. _She groaned.

Checking the clock, she noticed she woke up early for a Saturday morning. Pushing her head off the couch's arm, she felt something wet.

_Sweat? Maybe… tears? _She wondered while stroking the drenched cloth.

With a cloudless, bright sky, Riza thought she could relax but her heart was weighed with the heavy truth. But still, she thought, I should go outside to get some fresh air. Grabbing her purse and grocery list, Riza checked the mirror to make sure she wore the same mask: her blasé eyes and indifferent, natural lips. She left her apartment and checked it was locked six times, three more times than usual.

At the food market, she ducked under the store's shade and looked at the red apples. Examining them, she chose the best looking, unblemished ones and placed them in a bag. Maybe I could leave one on Colonel Mustang's desk. I knew he likes apples. She reached for the one when a white gloved hand took it first. She looked up.

"Colonel?"

Roy Mustang smiled. "It's been weeks that I've done grocery shopping."

"Is that so…" Riza knew that look. A lying look. A look that was trying to hide the fact that he waited for her. She turned and bought her items."Well, I'll see you on Monday."

"Wait, Lieutenant."

I'm sorry, Colonel. She quickened her pace but she heard boots clicking behind her on the stone sidewalk. Now running, she decided to lose him by hiding in the right corner. Sharply turning, Riza continued to run until she realized she ran into a dead end alley. A shadow stood next to her. She tightened.

…"_From the shadows"…_.

She swung her grocery bag behind her but missed. Instead, it was Colonel who grabbed her wrist.

"What's wrong with you?"

She loosened her wrist but he still grabbed tighter. _Why was it that even though I'd gone through military school, Colonel Mustang was still stronger than me?_

"I'm fine, I just… woke up strangely."

" You're not drunk, are you?" He leaned closer, the tip of their nose touching. Surprised, Riza stepped back only to hit hard on the brick wall. She felt her face get hotter by the seconds.

He sniffed. "No, you don't smell like alcohol." He grinned. "But you do smell fine with perfume. Why don't you use during your work?"

"I always use it. It's just that, you were never this close before." Sliding away, she continued, "And flattery won't work."

"Ha ha, you got me." Suddenly, he put his arm out to block from Riza to leave him. "But really, tell me. I can read you like a book."

Her cold mask was beginning to melt away.

She turned her head, seeing the alley has gotten darker when a thin cloud covered the sun.

_"I'll be watching you…"_

_No, _she thought,_ it doesn't matter if it's watching me. Some day, Colonel has to know._

"The truth is – "

A bloody presence. The same as last night. She felt a poke on her back. It wasn't Colonel. It wasn't a nail on the wall. It felt like a knife tip.

She choked out. "…. I love you."

The presence disappeared. The sun ray slipped into the alley.

Mustang stood there in shock. "Wow, I… didn't know you would confess first. I had loved you probably longer than you had." He stepped in closer. "And desired this moment longer than you."

At first, he was shy and flatly kissed her on the lips. Noticing she wasn't making a move, he went deeper and became more passionate. Riza, though she knew she was lying at that moment, gave into his wish and responded by wrapping her fingers around his neck. He wrapped his strong arms around her waist. Riza felt her body accepting this moment but her heart was still unprepared and deceiving. His body crushed hers on the wall.

_I knew his feelings. I do love him, but…_

"Roy…" She sighed.

He stopped. "It's been a while you said my first name." He reached for her blouse. "Say it one more time." He undid three of her buttons easily.

In between the kisses, she struggled "Roy… please stop…"

He caught his breath. "Why?"

"Umm….. it's that time of month…"

"… the time when you don't even want to hold hands with a guy?"

"… yeah…" the second lie.

He stepped back with one hand on her back, chuckling shyly. "Ha ha, sorry, could've told me earlier, Riza."

"It's been a while _you_ called me by my first name."

Mustang kissed her on her forehead. "Guess we should meet more often outside of HQ."

She covered her eyes with her bangs. "Yeah."

He skipped outside of the alley and into the bright street.

The same bloody presence came back.

**"Shouldn't you be happy that you finally confessed to your lover?"**

"Yeah, but… I didn't want to at this time…" she turned to glare at "it". "You know what I really wanted to say."

**"Of course, even though it will hurt both you and the colonel." It laughed evilly. "I really don't understand humans!"**

"And I don't understand you, homunculus."

Riza was left alone in the alley, wondering why, even though minutes ago she was with Roy Mustang, the warmth was gone and she felt the same as last night.

Regardless, as soon as she stepped out of the alley, her mask slipped on again.


	3. Chapter 2

As usual...

Enjoy!

**ps:** srry i took a long time. -____-;;;;;

the next chapter will be on _tomorrow~ _

**pps or pss or wtc it's suppose to be:** i lied; this isn't entirely rizacentric. Only this chapter is from Roy's 1st POV. i wonder if it sounds manly enough... ^_^;; (since im a girl)

* * *

The whole weekend felt like it flew and I had to go back to HQ on Monday. Which is a good thing, actually, since I got to see Riza again.

The pile of unfinished documents evilly smiled at me but I smiled back at it because I was just too happy to be lazy. If my subordinates were here, they would obviously catch my different mood, but since none of them, except for _her_, was here, I was almost free to act as I wanted to in Central. Almost.

Also, I met Oliver Armstrong in the hallway. It was ironic because I just talked to her relative, the flower shop owner, who probably owns my bank account, and in return I have her whole store. Somewhat metaphorically, of course. Checking the time, I packed some of my work with whatever money I had and left my room.

During lunch break, I entered the cafeteria with a tray full of food and incomplete paper work and searched for Riza. When I spotted her, I couldn't help but grin, not a fake one that I do to other girls while flirting, but a genuine grin. I forced it down just in case some of Bradley's spies were watching. But, to sit with her or not…. My feet made the decision.

"Is this seat taken?"

The blonde haired girl perked up.

"Go ahead, Colonel." Oh, I see. Riza's trying to act like nothing. Sigh. I guess I will have to follow the play.

With a spoonful of soup, she asked, "How has work been?"

"How do you think? I lost most of my best assistants." Except you, thank god. "And now I can't even escape these written crap on my lunch hour. How about you?"

"There are so many things to keep track of… I'm constantly busy with something. But his excellency get things done quickly, so that helps." She continued with an indifferent voice "He never ducks out early either. He's very skilled and actually quite the gentleman."

I frowned. "Something tells me this conversation's about to get really boring." I guess she had _some _rights to joke around, but that kinda hurt…. Then, optimistically, I asked. "Why don't we have lunch tomorrow?"

"You mean, like we're doing right now?"

"Ouch. That's makes two times I've been rejected today."

The lieutenant looked up with some interest. "Two times?"

Pleased with her reaction, I continued, "Yeah, I ran into Major Armstrong earlier. She left no room for interpretation either.

"Same as ever, then?"

"Yeah, she's as harsh as the last time we met." Then, with my voice directed to the woman sitting in front of me, "But unlike someone, Armstrong is very intelligent and actually quite the lady."

Behind her mug, Riza chocked on my lame and sarcastic comeback.

But that passed away when suddenly she was quiet, probably thinking of something intensely. She was only like this when she was debating something in her head for a long time, a rare thing for a quick sniper.

"Speaking of North…" She tapped her cup on her tray twice. "… Scar's worked his way up there and so have the Elric brothers."

I knew what this was. A slid a notebook page on top of my work and tapped my pen twice.

"Really?" I started to write.

"So are Lucy and Isaac from my academy class; they taught me a lot back then."

"Hmm, that reminds me, we'll be doing joint training with the North very soon."

"Is it time for that already?" it didn't sound surprised though. "I remember working with Major Miles' and Captain Buccaneer's units several times."

I joked, "Their hairstyles are burned into my memory, even more so than their fighting ability. I always found myself wondering, 'Aren't those two cold'?"

"And remember my friend Rebecca?"

"Yeah, the black-haired girl."

"General Armstrong took a liking to her; she was so excited when she told me."

"….." Really? Then again, Hawkeye might be making these up… I scribbled more on the paper.

" – think she considered me anything special. She called for Dove Lysander, Edgar and even York to join her…."

And so she went on… I don't remember all of what she said, but it was all on the paper.

"… Of course, Lucy was always the biggest eater."

I commented, "She'd gained some serious weight the last time I saw her. I mean, she was on par with Breda, and that's saying something."

"I heard Uni once joked that if she 'ate any more pork, she'd be cooked for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh man, that started one hell of a fight." I chuckled.

"If you were there, you should've stopped it. Startling tried to calm them down and he ended up in the hospital!" Riza sighed as she tapped her cup on her tray again.

I tapped my pen on the messy paper in response. "That reminds me back then…"

"Shoot." She got up. "Well, I don't have any more time for chit chatting. I've got to get back to work."

"Right."

As she walked away, the lieutenant turned around. "Instead of lunch, Colonel," I looked up. "… how about dinner tonight?" She didn't make it sound like a question.

I smiled. "That'll be great."

In the bathroom stall, I sat, looking at my notes from lunch. It was written:

Scar, Elrics, Lucy, Isaac, Miles, Buccaneer…

I squinted on the next name. Oh, it was Rebecca.

Armstrong, Dove, Lysander, next was Edgar, York, Ida, Sugar, Havoc, Oscar, Mike, Uni…

Decoding by using the first letter of each name, I tightened when I predicted the next few names.

… Nora… Charlie…. Uni…. Lucy… Uni….

….. Starling.

* * *

If you take the time to decode it, you probably know... or you might've already read this in the manga XP

next chapter is a flashback, just telling you guys.

hope you liked it~


	4. Flashback

Flashback from Friday…

Enjoy!

"Who's there?"

"Madame. I apologize for intruding at this hour. I am Lt. Hawkeye of the Furher's personal guard. His excellency has requested I deliver some urgent documents."

The Furher's wife sighed. "Oh my! You're a dear to be working so late!"

"He said he needed them by tomorrow."

"I'm so sorry… I'm afraid my husband is out. Tomorrow was it? Don't worry, I'll hold on to them."

"Thank you very much." Her hand steadied to hand the manila folder over, until a dark, spine tingling sensation alarmed her. Almost dropping the documents, she turned around.

"Salem, you're still up? You have school tomorrow."

"Oh… Master Salem?" Riza stuttered.

"Sorry, mother. I heard someone at the door and thought dad might be home."

"Well, Salem, This is Lt. Hawkeye from the personal guard."

"Hi Lt. Hawkeye!" he said cheerfully.

"Greetings." She nodded politely.

"You're working late, huh? So hard-working!"

"Yes, we had some urgent documents to deliver. I apologize for waking you. I'll be leaving in a moment."

The boy frowned. "Already? That stinks."

"Come, young master, you need your rest." escorted a butler. "We can't have you oversleeping, can we?"

"Awww…… okay…"

The door closed behind them leaving Riza with the Furher's wife.

"Salem loves his father so. He wants to join the army as soon as he's old enough."

"He seems like a smart young man." 1st Lieutenant complimented.

"Ho ho ho…. Isn't he? He's my pride and joy. If we were his birth parents, everyone would roll their eyes at us making such a fuss over him, but since he's adopted, we can brag as much as we want."

"He must get his friendly personality from your relatives, then."

"Oh, no, Salem takes after my husband's side."

Riza turned to the madame. "Oh…wasn't he your relative's child."

"No dear, he's the son of some distant relative of my husband."

Riza's eyes widened.

"Let's get out of this drafty hall. Would you like to stay and have some tea until my husband returns?"

"No, thank you. I'll be on my way now."

"Oh? What a pity…"

Walking too fast down the dark hall, Riza Hawkeye was close to exiting the Furher's mansion.

Even though it was a full moon, the night around her looked dark and mysterious, as if covering some unknown truth. Step by step, she only concentrated on one thing, one epiphany.

_The colonel told me King Bradley grew up as a test subject, isolated and alone. _

_That's where he became a homunculus…_

_He doesn't have a single relative anywhere!_

_And that feeling I had earlier… _

_It was… …_

_That boy….!_

"You figured it out, didn't you?"

She halted. That voice…

"Oh, that mother of mine… she just loves to talk about me and my 'dad'."

Her stiff shoulders didn't dare to turn around. Cautiously, she said,

"I sensed a hint of bloodlust earlier. I've felt it before, but I couldn't remember where. Now that it's behind me, though, I think I know… It's the same sensation when the homunculus Guttony snuck up on me." Raising her voice a little louder but no braver, "Salem Bradley, who or what are you?"

"You're pretty brave to ask about my true form, Lt. Hawkeye. And you're smart not to draw your gun."

No… not smart, only scared.

"… your weapons cannot defeat me. If you remain still, I won't attack."

Remaining still won't be a problem… she thought. A sweat slid across her smooth, shivering face.

"How kind of you. So, are you a homunculus like Gluttony? But, no you can't be… this pressure is a lot worse than it was with him…"

"Yes and no. I am the same as Gluttony." Salem smiled. "But you'd be making a big mistake to put me on the same level as him. I am the original Homunculus. My name is Pride."

Her words were spoken clear enough. "What do you mean "the original"?" She felt the same bloodlust feeling creeping behind her.

"Exactly what I said. Nothing more, nothing less." The young boy chuckled at her. "Trying to get whatever information you can out of me? You're a brave soul, Lieutenant Hawkeye." He tipped his head to one side with interest. "I like you. Would you be like to join us?"

In her head, she quickly remembered the things Colonel Mustang and the Elrics said about homunculus and her own dreadful experiences with them. "Never. I know how you people work. You don't want "comrades"; you want pawns that you can use at your convenience."

Salem didn't consider much. "That's too bad… very well."

Silently crawling, the black snake-like arms and hands traveled past her ankles, up her uniform and started to wrap around her neck snuggly. Paralyzed by the homunculus' trick, she only had a few seconds to think logically.

"You can stop making idle threats" she realized. "Killing me doesn't benefit you at all, does it?"

A pause. He finally said, "You're very smart, Lieutenant." The thin, black arms unwrapped itself and traveled back down her. "You know what will happen if you speak of this to anyone. Your friends and Colonel Mustang will suffer unspeakable pain.

I'll be watching you from the shadows."


	5. Chapter 3

Hey!~

Uber sorry that it's been a long time! i had a lot of things on my mind, not only stories, but also planning on to become part of the manga editing ppl. im not japanese, so i can't translate, nor get raw scans b/c i dont have the manga physically. But, im practicing editing the manga pages. (i dont kno if editors are need tho =o=;;) i _could _become a korean translator (since im learning it), but i need to study harder than....

anyway, last chapter! I'm done!~~ It's a little longer than the other chapters (of course...)

Enjoy!~

* * *

The Gatsby Jazz Tavern was the busiest of all restaurants in Central, and unusually, even on Monday nights.

He wasn't in the mood to be entirely drunk nor was he in the mood to be completely lonely tonight. Roy promised himself before that he wouldn't go back to his flirting habit, ever since he loved Riza, but it was tempting. Especially when something dramatic happens.

As he walked into the wild bar, he glanced around the dim, crowded room and saw women debating whether to leave their clutch on the table or not, the men silently bragging about their partner, and everyone sliding onto the wooden floor. Only one girl, sitting by herself on a stool, seemed just as calm and melancholy as he was. Going next to her, he started with his typical phrase and trademark smile.

"Do you come here often, Miss – "

"Hawkeye." The blonde hair, free from its daily bun, swished as she turned. "Riza Hawkeye."

A little shocked by her natural yet stunning appearance, Roy stared with awe. Regaining his senses, he commented, "You still smell great."

"Still with the flattery…" she sighed "And you thought that I was a girl you could flirt with for a night and break up the next day, didn't you? Just before, wasn't that your so-called pickup line?"

"Now, speak for yourself. You said 'I love you' one day and in a few days acted like we were just… acquaintances."

"Well, I guess we shouldn't hold on to grudges for too long. It could go on forever."

"And you shouldn't hold that fear for too long. You only sat here because the other table booths are too dark, right?"

Riza looked down at the table, not sure of what to say. She definitely didn't want to admit it, but it was true. Roy was looking around the room, not sure of what to do. When a waitress walked by, Roy signaled to her.

"Two beers."

She blushed a scarlet red and Riza was deeply irritated.

"I'm not thirsty, Colonel."

Without looking at the waitress, he said, "Never mind, cancel the order."

After a minute in silence, Roy finally asked, "Shall we dance?"

She glanced around the room, noticing they were the only ones sitting while everyone was swaying on the dance floor. She hated being obvious, whether it was in the battlefield or in a bar. "Sure."

In the sea of people, they didn't notice that she put her hand on his arm and his on her waist so naturally. Riza felt butterflies fluttering not only in her stomach but all around. A nice jazz tune blew in the drunken air. She closed her eyes, trying to enjoy this moment.

"That girl over there… "Roy tilted his head slightly toward the singer on stage. "I used to go out with her."

In a cool voice, she said, "So?" but couldn't help to look in the corner of her eyes. She saw a woman her age with big, full, and curly hair with an equally sized bust. Riza looked away, a little envious.

"How far did you go with her?"

Roy shrugged, "Less than a peck on the cheek. The same with other girls."

She looked away, somewhat relieved that he didn't do any further. But, it sounds like he does it a lot. Maybe I'm just one of them…

Watching her footsteps, she noticed shadows swaying with her every move. She gripped his hand tighter.

"Sir…"

"It's Roy."

She looked up.

"Roy, what are we going to do now? Since we figured it out, isn't _that_ day coming soon?"

"We just do what we've always done. We help out the Elric brothers and do what we can in Central while they take care of North. They'll have to come here someday."

"No," she dropped her hands. "I mean, what do _we _do?"

Mustang sighed, wishing she wouldn't talk about it tonight because he didn't know either. But, looking at her, he was able to find the answer.

"We should…"

Riza moved in closer to hear.

"… get married."

Her eyes widen. "What?!"

Roy kept a serious face only for long before he broke out, laughing. She glared, her mouth frowning.

"Heh heh, sorry Riza. I had to break the sadness."

"That wasn't funny, though."

"Yeah, I guess… but later, we would get married, right?"

"… maybe."

"You better remember that."

"I won't have a problem. But you better not flirt with other girls then."

"Augh, your comebacks are always better…"

Riza laughed and grabbed his hand again. "Let's continue."

"Sure." He grinned, satisfied with this moment, and danced to the soft music.

"But, before we get married, I guess there's still somethings we have to do."

She asked. "Such as?"

"You remaining as _my_ subordinate. Even though you work under the Furher, you will stay with me, right?"

Remembering the homunculus, she doubted. "It'll be especially harder."

"How? There's nothing different since we have each other."

"But…" she admitted. "… I'm useless when it comes to those monsters."

"Then I'll help you. And if I stray from my goal to become Furher, then you'll lend a hand. Fair enough?"

She was amazed how easy the truth was. She hugged Roy as a childish "thank you". But, he didn't take it in a childish way. Gently, he brought her chin up and before either of them could take a breath, their lips touched. Pulling him closer, she made the kiss sink in much further. His hands traveled down her back until it reached a little below the waist.

"Uh… Riza?" He paused.

"Why'd you stop?" She asked. Then blushing, she regretted acting too eager.

"Umm… why do you have a gun in your pocket? Aren't typical ladies supposed to carry peppermint spray?"

It took Riza while to remember she carried it around because of the shadows. "Well, you know perfectly well that I'm not a typical woman." She joked.

Grinning, he agreed. "Indeed, you're not."

She pulled on his collar to kiss him, but she tugged a little too hard. After a bump on the ground, Roy shook his head because of the impact and looked up. He found himself on top of Riza.

Blushing pink to red, they were surrounded by other couples.

"Geez, it's hot on the floor."

"Ha ha, so cute!"

"Go get a room!"

The two frozen statues responded to the last comment. He whispered in her ear.

"Your place or mine?"

"Yours, definitely. My apartment is still filled with moving boxes."

They calmly got up as if nothing happened and walked out of the bar, holding hands.

Her steps echoed on the brick walkway along with another pair next to her. Accompanied by her lover at this time of night, Riza Hawkeye wasn't scared of the dark. They skipped down the empty street, knowing that nothing could stop them, at least, tonight.


End file.
